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2 Friday, September 13, 2019 brooklintowncrier.com Transplants on wheels Less than half the picture: By Richard Bercuson The streets of Brooklin (which might make a fine movie title some day) are fairly quiet at most hours. Yes, lunacy exists around schools twice daily; rush hour is mostly congestion. Weekend evenings aren't horrible, except for the speeders though moves are afoot to deal with that. Cyclists travel our roads by mostly obeying rules. Walkers and runners co-exist with parents pushing baby SUVs who all manage to get where they're going with nary a worry. We also don't hear a cacophony of honking, screeching tires, or road rage insults, internal swearing aside. Yup, we're darn near civilized in Brooklin. But there's trouble on the horizon. Cue e-scooters and their cousins, e-skateboards, two entirely redundant inventions. It never dawned on me that making one electric would provide a "mode of transportation" to rival bicycles and cars. Shows what I know. An aside: I recently visited family in Boston. Aside from its lovely downtown, the outlying areas are a mish-mash of winding streets, weird intersections and confusion. There's the Charles River...oops, there it is again...are we heading south east or north west? Paul Revere must have had a devil of a time going to and fro. No matter where, you'll likely interact in a negative way with those infernal machines. (E-skateboards, by the way, are controlled with a handheld remote. This means that when you swerve to avoid mashing the kid on it, he/ she will only have one hand to grab onto a nearby sideview mirror or tree and, with Olympian flexibility, flip out of the way.) Bostonians call them "Transplants on wheels." People on these contraptions jump on and off sidewalks, weaving through traffic. No one wears a helmet. Avoidance of rider destruction is commonplace. If you're unsure of how dangerous these are, I suggest you do a web search of "E-scooter problems." So when the Ontario government recently approved a five year pilot to allow e-scooters on our streets, my first thought was, "Are you crazy?" The second thought was, I hope we have enough ambulances and paramedics. A recent CBC report quoted a Washington emergency room doctor who said she was taken aback by the number of serious injuries related to e-scooter use. "It's unusual to go a day without seeing a single patient who has some kind of injury," said Dr. Kate Douglass at George Washington University Hospital, as told to Radio-Canada. It further reported: "In Calgary, which has allowed e-scooters on its streets since July, nearly 350 emergency room visits have been blamed on e-scooter injuries, said Dr. Eddy Lang, head of the emergency medicine department at the University of Calgary. "This is quite worrisome," he said. He added that riding on a street with vehicle traffic is "really quite a risky proposition." No kidding. Grown-ups, even government grown-ups, with a modicum of common sense should have just said, "Let's hold off till we research it more." My suggestion? This is a good time to check your insurance policy. Dancer To Compete In Italy By Cindy Shin Natalie Shin, a grade seven student at Winchester PS, will travel to Rome, Italy, later next year as a first-time member of Team Canada Dance for the 2020 World Competition - Dance World Cup Finals hosted by World Performers Canada Inc. Natalie will compete in three disciplines: jazz, modern and hip-hop in six routines. She's been training since July in addition to the many hours she dances weekly at her home studio, Oshawa's Take 5 Dance Studio. Entering her fifth year of competitive dance, she credits her dance teachers Jesslyn Truax, Shannon Bruce-Kemp and Zoe Rosales for their patient instruction and guidance, who have paved her path to the international stage. To help Natalie fund her trip, go to www.gofundme.com/f/let039s-help-natalie-get-to-italy Photo credit: James Simzer North Whitby Sports Complex Gets Go-Ahead The long-awaited sports complex to service Whitby's north end is a step closer to reality after council on Monday voted to accept the Whitby staff report on the project. The report's recommendations were: 1. That Council direct staff to undertake public consultation for the proposed North Whitby Sports Complex; 2. That Council direct staff to make a funding application to the Investing In Canada Infrastructure Program: Community Culture and Recreation stream to offset costs of the North Whitby Sports Complex;and, 3. That Staff report back to Council in Q2 2020 on the public consultation feedback, proposed facility concept designs and other project milestones. (Please consult the report's conceptual site plans on this page) The proposed location of the complex will be as per a land exchange agreement with Fieldgate (Winash Developments) that is to be finalized this month. A key factor in choosing this location was accessibility to highway 407 as well as the planned mid-black arterial road that is to run adjacent to the facility and thus siphon traffic from Winchester Road. The arterial road has long been part of the Brooklin Secondary and Master Transportation Plans. An environmental assessment is already underway with construction expected to begin in 2021-22. Parallel to the construction will be the repurposing of the Luther Vipond Memorial rink which is fast approaching the end of its lifespan as an arena. It's been recommended that, since the building itself is sound, it eventually be used as a community centre. As well, the Brooklin Memorial Park and grounds surrounding the arena will require redevelopment. The new indoor facility, expected to coast around $40 million, will include: a. twin-pad arena with 85' by 190' ice pads, one of which is possibly encircled by a three-lane indoor walking/jogging track; b. indoor aquatics centre with a 25 metre lap pool with deep end and separate leisure pool(s); and, c. active living/wellness studio According to the staff report, "The proposed opening of the facility is projected to be in 2024." Key dates are as follows (Q = quarter of the year, ie. Q1 = Jan-March): Community Public Engagement Q4 2019- Q1 2020 Report to Council of Community Feedback Q2 2020 Development of Facility Design Concepts Q1-Q2 2020 Report to Council of Facility Design/Tendering Q2-Q3 2020 Contracts Q4 2020 Construction Q1 2021 Completion Q4 2023 For more information, visit whitby.ca and go to the agenda for the Sept. 9 meeting of Council of the Whole. The sports complex report (CMS 22-19) is under item 9.3 Site location image from CMS 22-19 Staff Report at the Town of Whitby Draft image from CMS 22-19 Staff Report at the Town of Whitby